Olney Farmers and Artists Market

Welcome to the Sixth Season of the
Olney Farmers & Artists Market!

Location: Grounds of the Medstar Montgomery Medical Center Thrift Shop
at Route 108 & Prince Philip Drive (see directions).
Dates and Time: Sundays from May 13th to November 4th, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Read our Gazette Coverage

We open our sixth full season on Mother's Day, May 13th, so bring your whole family and come on out to the Thrift Shop Grounds, our beautiful site at Route 108 and Prince Philip Drive in Olney. Before we share some of the highlights, we want to wish two good friends of the Market a speedy recovery. Judy Newton, our chef's coordinator, is on the mend at home right now after suffering a serious heart attack. We also want to thank Debbie Amster for assisting with chef's bookings, in Judy's absence. Also, Tara Holl's husband, Al Sospiro Chef Antonio, is also recovering from an illness. We wish both of them well!

This week at the Market...

We expect to have just about all our wonderful farmers back, though we'll probably have to wait a little while for the fine produce to come in. In total, we have about 50 vendors this year, including farmers, juried artists, and food vendors.

We have a new addition to the market this year - a meat and poultry farmer from the Ferguson Family Farm. We also welcome Frankly . . . Pizza!, our new healthy pizza vendor. You'll be amazed that pizza can actually be healthy and local too! We also have our new Vietnamese food vendors, Trung Nguyen and Hien Vu, owners of Dalat Deli. They will have Vietnamese egg rolls, spring rolls, Vietnamese BBQ, and bottled water.
Eat A Little Something will be back, but with new additions! Here is a message from the owner, Freddy Turim: Eat a Little Something will be featuring a grilled sausage/bacon/cheddar omelet or a baby spinach/sauteed mushroom/cheddar omelet. We are also serving Belgian Waffles with a choice of fillings. This week, Chocolate Chip, Blueberry or Bacon/Cheddar. See you Sunday!

Our chef's demo will feature Olive Oil and Sea Salt and bread pairings, courtesy of one of Washington's most renowned chefs, Enzo Fargione the owner of Elisir in downtown Washington. Come to the Chef's Tent at 11 a.m. to see and taste it!

We can't wait to see the latest creations from our artists. They'll have special offerings for Mother's Day! Also, free massages for Moms and great giveaways!

The wonderful Pat O'Neill band will be back in action on opening day. This season, we have a new volunteer, Hailey, who is doing the bookings.

For kids, the Children's Tent will be back with arts & crafts! There will also be a children's fitness program with Celia Kibler from Funfit!

And for teens, there will be Ping Pong tournaments with great prizes! Sign up at the Information Tent to get involved!

Also, we'll be taking up a special collection for needy people in our community. This season, we're asking you to donate $25 or less to a special fund, so that needy people can double their food stamps to get fresh produce. We'll be taking up the collection at the Information booth.

So run, don't walk to the Market! The first 15 people who run or bike to the Market on Opening Day will get FREE COFFEE and a FREE PASTRY!

And be sure to keep up with the OFAM Blog, which has a handy link on our website.

Upcoming Events

May 20th will be another Breakfast at the Market to benefit Jeremy's Run. With reserved seating, participants can enjoy their breakfast and also help a good cause. This would be during 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

An Insect Zoo will be set up in the Children's Tent on May 20th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. for all that are interested in seeing a wide range of critters! Master Gardeners will also be there to provide fun facts and advice.

There will be a Progressive Dinner in June to support families coming to the market with food stamps. For those interested, you will soon be able to buy tickets to this dinner. It will provide you with a taste of many cultures, while also supporting our efforts to double food stamps brought to us. More details to come.

On July 4th, we will be holding an Old-Fashioned Picnic and Chili Cookoff! Come celebrate the fourth of July in your community with great food, fun, and prizes.

How Can You Help?

The OFAM needs volunteers! With so much to setup and prepare for each market day, we sure could use some additonal help. Come on folks - help us to make the Market even better in 2012! If interested, please contact us at info@olneyfarmersmarket.org.

To receive information . . .

Sign up for our weekly newsletter, chocked full of information about what is planned each Market day. Fill in the contact form, and say subscribe! You'll join our growing list of informed market patrons who know what they're looking for and where to find it!

Or join over 300+ other members of the community by visiting our Facebook page to stay connected. Just click here and like the page for updates!

See you on Sunday, May 13th!

OFAM in partnership with Project Change
Project Change is a youth/adult partnership organization dedicated to promoting opportunities for youth to be engaged in, contribute to, and be satisfied members of their community.